GK-12 Home People Science Lessons Math Lessons Partner Schools Pictures Links

The lessons are aligned with the California Science Standards.
To find a lesson, click on a link or scroll to browse.

Life Science	Chemistry	Physics	Earth Science	Investigation & Experimentation
Grade 6 Grade 7 Grades 9-12	Grade 8 Grades 9-12	Grade 8 Grades 9-12	Grades 9-12	Grades 9-12

Our mission was to develop inquiry-based activities that are affordable, and easy to implement. When possible we try to use readily available items, most of which can be purchased in drug stores & markets. Some of our labs, however require chemicals or kits that need to be ordered in advance.

Important Note Some of the ideas in these lessons may have been adapted from earlier, unacknowledged sources without our knowledge. If the reader believes this to be the case, please let us know, and appropriate corrections will be made. Thanks.

Grade Six

Physical Sciences

Physical Principles in Living Systems

Physical Principles in Living Systems

Laser Experiment. Developed by J. Lee, M. Page and S. Lara.

Students work together in groups of ~3-4 to explore the various properties of light, specifically those outlined in the California Science Standards 6c, 6f, and 6g. They are given a problem that they must solve with their group. The problem involves hitting a target set up on one side of the table with a laser that is situated on the opposite side of the table. The laser beam has to be directed around a barrier in the middle of the table. Students use various objects provided by the teacher (mirrors, cardboard, magnifying glass, clear plastic, etc.) in order to achieve their goal. They trace the path of the laser beam and note which materials they used and why. They then present their designs to the class. This activity introduces students to problem solving within groups, to making predictions about which materials will be best to use and to analyzing why certain designs did or did not work. Physical Science Standards, Physical Principles of living Things, 6c, 6f, 6g.

Download: Laser Experiment

Students examine plant and animal cells under the microscope to look for similarities and differences. They then draw organelles into diagrams of plant and animal cells and try to figure out differences and similarities between the two cell types. Finally, they create a song, story, rap, skit or poster that presents at least three differences between plant and animal cells. They then present their creations to the class. Life Science Standards, Cell Biology, 1a, 1b, 1c, 1d.
Download: What do cells look like?

In this guided inquiry lesson, students create and use paper models of chromosomes to model the processes of mitosis and meiosis. They use these models to understand how mitosis yields two cells with identical chromosomes, and how meiosis yields four cells with half the number of chromosomes as the parent cell. Students can also use the models to discover that the process of meiosis can yield cells with different combinations of chromosomes and mating these sex cells will yield offspring with different traits. Life Science Standard, Cell Biology, 1e.
Download: The Chromosomes of a Frimpanzee.

Students learn to relate structure and function by examining skulls of different animals, with special focus on the teeth. They will also examine their own teeth and make a map of which teeth they have and which they are missing. After they learn the four different kinds of teeth that mammals may have (incisor, canine, pre-molar & molar), they will learn to distinguish the skulls of predator animals from prey animals and to distinguish skulls of herbivores, omnivores, and carnivores. Life Science Standard, Structure and Function in Living Systems, 5.

What makes ice cubes melt? What can speed up or slow down the process? And thus, what is heat and how is it transferred? Students will conduct experiments using readily available materials to see who can melt an ice cube the slowest. Physics Standards: Heat & Thermodynamics 3a, 3c.

The purpose of this inquiry-based lab/lesson is to have students conduct several experiments to learn about sound as a form of energy and how that energy travels. The students conduct eight activities to see how sound travels through different objects and mediums and record their observations. From this lab and the following discussion, students should develop an understanding that sound waves originate from a vibrating object that causes the medium around it to vibrate, sound waves are longitudinal waves, sound travels at different speeds in different mediums, and the speed of sound is slower than the speed of light. Physics Standards: Waves 4a; Investigation and Experimentation 1c, 1d.

The purpose of this inquiry-based lab/lesson is to have students conduct several experiments to learn about static electricity. From this lab, students should develop an understanding that charged objects create an invisible electric force field around themselves. The strength of this field depends on many things, including the amount of charge, distance involved, and shape of the objects. Specifically, they should know that the greater the charges, the stronger the force field and the greater the distance, the weaker the force the force field. Physics: Electric & Magnetic Phenomena 5e; Investigation and Experimentation 1c, 1d.

In this activity students rolling marbles under a foam board in order to discover the shape of the object in the center of the board. . From this activity students will understand the Rutherford experiment and how the nucleus of the atom was discovered. Students are also introduced to the atomic structure of an atom. Chemistry standards: Atomic and Molecular Structure 1e, 1h; Investigation and Experimentation d, g.

This lesson allows students to model the electronic structures of various atoms and ions within the first three row of the periodic table, using paper plates, markers & labels. The students will make observations on patterns of electron configuration and reactivity of elements and then formulate and model ionic compounds. Chemistry Standards: Atomic & Molecular Structure 1d; Chemical Bonds 2a.

The purpose of the lesson is to allow students to predict and then test which substances are ionic and which are molecular. By identifying ionic and molecular compounds, students can understand how these compounds are formed and what forces hold them together. Moreover, they understand ionic compounds dissociate in aqueous solution and form ions that can conduct electricity. Students will use Conductivity testers to measure readily available solutions. Chemistry Standards: Atomic & Molecular Structure 2a, 2d.

Students will model electronic structures of various atoms and ions within the first 3 row of the periodic table, using paper plates, markers & labels. Students will formulate and model ionic compounds. Chemistry Standards: Atomic & Molecular Structure 1d; Chemical Bonds 2a.

The goals of this lesson are to introduce students to the concept of a mole, to teach them to manipulate very large and very small numbers by using exponents as expressed in scientific notation and to teach them the rules of significant digits when reporting measurements. Students teams, obtain the mass of a bag or an item of food (oranges, eggs, & candies). Students will use the analogy of a dozen to a mole to calculate mass. Chemistry Standards: Conservation of Matter & Stoichiometry 3d, 3c.

Ideal Gas Law: What is the Value of R? Developed by: S Gould and H. Kang.

The students have since learned about the Earth’s layers, plate boundaries, and how all of the continents originated in Pangaea and drifted to their current location. They also have reviewed convection currents and understand that is one way plates move. Here, the students study the second mechanism for plate movement; they study sea floor spreading through the context of discovering why the Atlantic Ocean is expanding using observations of the features of the ocean floor. Students review the importance of using evidence when making theories and are provided with a model that simulates the events on the ocean floor. Earth Sciences: Structure of Matter 3c; Investigation and Experimentation, 1d.

Students will learn how to test for different macromolecules, and what macromolecules can be found in foods. In this simulation students play the role of a police scientist who must examine the clues found at the scene of the crime. The students need to find out who did the crime, and present your data/evidence and the name of the suspect to the prosecuting attorneys. Life Science Standards, Cell Biology 1h.

In the basic lab, students, working in teams of two, will test the effectiveness of 10 antibacterial agents. Each student receives a sterile petri dish, inoculates it with a common nonpathogenic bacterium such as Bacillus subtilis, then proceeds to test the effectiveness of 5 commercially available antiseptics or disinfectants by placing a small sample of each on blotter discs which are placed on the inoculated agar in the petri dish. As the bacteria mature over several days, students observe, measure, and compare the diameters of zones of inhibited growth around each blotter to determine the relative effectiveness of each antibacterial agent. Biology/Life Science Standards and, Cell Biology 1c, Physiology 10d; Investigation and Experimentation Standards 1a, 1b, 1c, 1d.

The purpose of this activity is to demonstrate to the biology student that the cell is not a static object. Students will act out the steps of Central Dogma, with a focus on DNA transcription, mRNA translation. Students will know how to translate the genetic code. The students will be able to demonstrate a working knowledge of the Central Dogma, from DNA transcription to protein synthesis through active participation in a cooperative group. Biology/Life Science Standards, Cell Biology 1d.

Via a simple DNA isolation procedure, students will isolate their own DNA from cheek cells and be able to actually visualize the long strands of precipitated DNA. Upon isolation, students will test their samples for purines, phosphate, and deoxyribose – all components of the double helix. Then while giving the students only minimal clues, the students will be asked to create a model of the double helix, based on the known structures of purines, pyrimidines, phosphates, sugars, and the hydrogen bonds that hold the two strands of DNA together. Biology Standards: Cell Biology 1a, Genetics (Biotechnology) 5a; Investigation and Experimentation Standards 1d. Students were so excited to see their own DNA. Again, they had pre-conceived notions that (1) you had to have a microscope to see DNA, and (2) that the DNA would look like it always does in textbooks – have blue, green, red, and yellow base pairs! (M. Oltmann).

In this guided inquiry lesson, students create and use paper models of chromosomes to model the processes of mitosis and meiosis. They use these models to understand how mitosis yields two cells with identical chromosomes, and how meiosis yields four cells with half the number of chromosomes as the parent cell. Students can also use the models to discover that the process of meiosis can yield cells with different combinations of chromosomes and mating these sex cells will yield offspring with different traits. Biology/Life Science Standards, Genetics 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d, 2e.

The students will discover on their own what DNA looks like in the cell by extracting DNA from strawberries. Then through detail instructions and guided questions in the Student Manual, they will discover and learn about DNA structures, nucleotides, base-pairing rule, and semi conservative replication. This lesson is inquiry- based, little lecturing but heavily on students’ participation in the activity. Biology/Life Science Standards, Genetics 5a, 5b.

Students will interpret and analyze the physical differences that exist within the population of their classroom. They will make observations of specific traits, collect data, and graph their results. As an introduction to Mendel’s Laws of Segregation and Independent Assortment, they will learn what it means to be dominant and recessive, and they will discover how variation occurs within a population. Biology/Life Science Standards, Genetics 3a, 3d.

The goal of this activity is to allow students to discover that DNA sequences, while the A, T, G, and C’s seem like non-sense, do in fact encode very important proteins that help us sustain life. They will also discover that some of these proteins are involved in causing diseases. The program used to search the available database of proteins is called BLAST (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/BLAST/). It is provided by the National Institutes of Health and is widely used by research scientists to search for DNA and protein sequences. Students will transcribe and translate a given sequence of DNA and perform a BLAST search against a database of known proteins to determine which protein their sequence encodes. They will than do a web search to find the diseases related to these proteins. Biology: Cell Biology 1d, Genetics Molecular Biology 4b, 4c, 4e; Investigation and Experimentation Standards 1a, 1m.

Students will work in small teams, where each team will design and construct an ecosystem that will be housed in a sealed, clear plastic bottle. Students will make daily journal entries of observations, inferences, and conclusions regarding the successful viability of the organisms in their ecosystems. Students with the longest lasting ecosystems should get a fun prize and extra recognition. Biology/Life Science Standards, Ecology 6a, 6b, 6d, 6e, 6g; Investigation and Experimentation Standards 1a, 1d, 1g, 1i.

Students remove and identify skulls and bones from owl pellets to investigate what an owl eats. Students use dichotomous keys and other guides for identification of organisms, and they pool their results and graph them, providing an overall picture of the owl’s diet. This activity reinforces the idea that organisms are adapted to their ecological niches – students will see the owls have adaptations for hunting silently at night and that their prey are adapted to evade predators and/or to be herbivorous. Finally, the activity introduces the concept of a food web, allowing students to see how organisms are ecologically related to one another. Biology/Life Science Standards, Ecology 6a, 6f.

This activity was designed using materials provided by Lorie Topinka, Manager of the Teacher Services Program in the Education Division of the California Academy of Sciences. Many of the activities and handouts are derivatives or copies of the ones designed by her. The California Academy of Sciences can be located on the web at www.calacademy.org.

Students will observe the carbon cycle in action in a miniature “biosphere” made of zip-lock bags .They will also learn the importance of light energy on cellular respiration. Students will also be introduced to acid-base indicators. Biology/ Life Science Standards, Ecology 6d, Investigation and Experimentation Standards 1f.

This lesson was adapted from a commonly used protocol to demonstrate the carbon cycle by using a pH indicator. Materials and methods are from the Beacon Lesson Plan Library’s “Oxygen Factory” activity. http://www.beaconlearningcenter.com/Lessons/756.htm.

Worm Bin. Developed by K. Thomas, A. Knudsen, J. Ta, C. Davis & J. Thomas.

The purpose of this inquiry-based lab/lesson is to have students develop an understanding of decomposition by observing the process in a worm bin. Students will be introduced to worm bins and composting and will help maintain the worm bin; Students will become more familiar with the scientific method; students will repeatedly make observations and predictions, ask questions, analyze evidence, and develop explanations. Students will also develop writing skills by completing the required writing exercises. Biology/ Life Science Standards, Ecology 6e, Investigation and Experimentation Standards 1d, 1i, 1k.

In the basic lab, student teams set up two islands composed of equal proportions of genotypic alleles. In this simulation the islands will be bowls, one large and one small. Each bowl will be populated with beans of the same shape and size, but of different colors. Students will blindly sample half of the beans on each island to reproduce and the non-reproducing beans are eliminated. After students have recorded the number and proportion of alleles in each new population, they blindly resample each population again and again record the new proportion of alleles left on each island. After five iterations, the students can stop and compare the initial vs. final proportions of alleles left on each island. Genetic drift should have occurred much more dramatically on the small island than on the large island. Biology/Life Science Standards, Evolution 8c.

The purpose of this inquiry-based lab is to guide students to conduct an experiment that will test how chance may alter allele frequencies in small populations. Student will use beans to conduct a “bottleneck event” that symbolizes genetic drift of an endangered species. Students will develop math skills by calculating Hardy-Weinberg genotype frequencies. Students will apply their data collection to an endangered species poster project. The poster presentation will incorporate students’ ability to write and think critically about species adaptation to their surrounding environment. This project should also raise student awareness about endangered species. Biology/Life Science Standards, Evolution 8c.

In this lab activity, students will explore the process of natural selection by simulating a predator-prey relationship modeled after the effect called industrial melanism for the peppered moths of Manchester, England. Students will work in teams of three or four; one person being a time-keeper/data recorder and the others acting as predators in this simulation. The student predators will harvest their prey over several time periods that represent generation times for their prey. The prey consists of disks hole-punched from plain white paper and newsprint. The predators will collect their prey using forceps. For each of the first four generations, the prey is collected against a plain white paper background. The proportion of both kinds of prey remaining after each generation is allowed to reproduce and their population is recorded. Then changing the background from plain white paper to newsprint between the fourth and fifth iteration simulates a change in the environment and the simulation continues on for four more generations. Biology/Life Science Standards, Evolution 7a, 7d, 8a; Investigation and Experimentation Standards 1d, 1g.

In the basic lab, students, working in teams of two, will test the effectiveness of 10 antibacterial agents. Each student receives a sterile petri dish, inoculates it with a common nonpathogenic bacterium such as Bacillus subtilis, then proceeds to test the effectiveness of 5 commercially available antiseptics or disinfectants by placing a small sample of each on blotter discs which are placed on the inoculated agar in the petri dish. As the bacteria mature over several days, students observe, measure, and compare the diameters of zones of inhibited growth around each blotter to determine the relative effectiveness of each antibacterial agent. Biology/Life Science Standards and, Cell Biology 1c, Physiology 10d; Investigation and Experimentation Standards 1a, 1b, 1c, 1d.

The purpose of this lesson is to help students gain a useful familiarity and understanding of science as a fundamental process. In this investigation, students will be asked to try to explain how and why the vanes of a radiometer spin. The purpose of this lab exercise isn't to come up with the "right answer". Rather, its purpose is to allow students to experience the curiosity of attacking a problem that has an unknown solution, verifying (or refuting) their hypotheses with facts and logic, and publishing their findings for peer review; all steps fundamental to the process of good science. Investigation and experimentation 1a, 1b, 1c, 1d, 1f, 1j, 1k, 1n.

Background information regarding the mechanics of the operation of Crookes' Radiometer, or light-mill was obtained from the following internet source: www.weburbia.demon.co.uk/physics/light-mill/html. The information contained in "How does a light-mill work?" by Philip Gibbs, is intended simply as background information, and no intention of its veracity can be claimed by the author of this laboratory procedure.

Grade Six

Laser Experiment. Developed by J. Lee, M. Page and S. Lara.

Grade Seven

Focus on Life Sciences

Grade 8

Physical Science

The Four Classes of Macromolecules That Make Living Things. Developed by S. Sehati, C. Angwin & N. Valdez.

Grades 9-12

Physics

Introduction to Heat. Developed by P. Dong & J. Lincoln.

Sound Lab. Developed by K. Thomas, A. Knudson & J. Ta.

Static Electricity. Developed by K. Thomas A. Knudson & J. Ta.

Chemistry

The Rutherford Experiment. Developed by J. Wang & C. Lo.

Bonding: That’s What We Do!! Developed by Mui Sam & H. Kang & H. Johnson.

What’s the Big Shock! – A Conductivity Inquiry. Developed by M. Sam, H. Jonson & H. Kang.

Bonding: That’s what we do!! Developed by M. Sam, H. Kang & H. Jonson.

Atoms Unite! Let’s Make a Bond! Developed by S. Gould & H. Kang.

Food for Thought – A Stoichiometric Problem. Developed by M. Sam, H. Jonson & H. Kang.

Physical and Chemical Changes Inquiry. Developed by M. Sam, H. Jonson & H. Kang.

Your Name Worth That Many Moles of Chalk? Developed by M. Sam, H. Jonson & H. Kang.

Gases and Their Properties

Ideal Gas Law: What is the Value of R? Developed by: S Gould and H. Kang.

What is pH? Can pH be balanced? Developed by B. Wang, C. Davis & J. Thomas.

Flamin’ Foods: Calorie Investigation. Developed by M. Sam, H. Jonson & H. Kang.

Thermochemistry. Developed by K. Thomas, A. Knudson & J. Ta

Sea-floor Spreading. Developed by K. Thomas, A. Knudson & J. Ta.

Biology/Life Science

The Action of Antiseptics and Disinfectants. Developed by D. Tomerlin, P. Parker, J. De la Cerda & C. Bayley.

We can see DNA??? Developed by M. Oltmann & A. james.

The Chromosomes of a Frimpanzee. Developed by B. Wang & E. Leon.

Central Dogma: Connect the Dots…DNA to DISEASE. Developed by M. Oltmann & A. James.

Restriction Enzyme Digest. Developed by M. Oltmann & A. James.

We can see DNA??? Developed by M. Oltmann & A. James.

What Does an Owl Eat? Developed by B. Wang & E. Leon.

LIGHT….CARBON…ACTION! Carbon Cycle Lab. Developed by M. Oltmann & A. James.

Worm Bin. Developed by K. Thomas, A. Knudsen, J. Ta, C. Davis & J. Thomas.

Natural Selection Simulation. Developed by D. Tomerlin, C. Bayley, J. De La Cerda & P. Parker.

Inquiry Lab Using Radiometers. Developed by D. Tomerlin. This lesson was not tested in the classroom.